Physicians' participation in research
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* Shauna Tsuchiya
* Adrienne Einarson

*   © 2007 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors

I (the first author) am currently working with the Motherisk program at the Hospital for Sick Children, where I am helping with a research project that involves contacting family physicians' offices, describing a survey to the nurse or office manager and inquiring if the physician would be interested in completing a 5-minute questionnaire. I have been very surprised by the number of physicians who report that they do not participate in research. In Canadian medical schools, we are taught that physicians are expected to practise evidence-based medicine, which is based on research findings. Clinicians should play a pivotal role in research, because they require the results of these studies to optimally treat their patients.

The role of the physician is a demanding one, with many time constraints. It would be unreasonable to expect physicians to participate in every survey that crosses their desk, but we feel that they should at least consider the research proposals that are presented to them, rather than becoming irritated and immediately discarding them. Perhaps the exposure of medical students to role models and the way research is presented within the medical school curriculum should be evaluated to ensure that graduating physicians are open to participating in research.